Sep 16, 2009
Time and Tide Crucial for Fishing the Flats
As viewers of the Fishing the Flats TV show already know, the state of Florida abounds in prime locations for that sport. Fishing the flats may be done anywhere from Mosquito Lagoon to Indian River, from Fort Myers to Naples, not to mention the Keys themselves at the tip end of the state.
The host of Fishing the Flats, Henry Waszczuk, has himself dipped into the skinny waters of Charlotte Harbor for cold-weather hunting of redfish, as well as many other Floridian fishing grounds. Fishing the Flats in Florida could be a weekly series all by itself.
Before you knew it, Waszczuk had his own fishing magazine, and he turned years of angling experience into dynamic fishing the flats TV. Any given week, the viewer can watch Waszczuk and crew take on a new adventure. One episode might deal with fishing the flat (and ultra-skinny) waters of Charlotte Harbor, Florida, seeking the mighty redfish in its winter habitat.
It works like this. When the tide is out, the fish I seek are scarce. I’m there to fish the flats, not waste my time. On the other hand, when the incoming tides flood over the flats, it encourages the reds to fan out and go huntin’ in newly accessible (higher) areas.
When fishing the flats in Florida, the choices of site are endless. If you don’t want to worry about tides, you could fish the flats around Mosquito Lagoon, or the Banana River Lagoon. This area is part of the Indian River Lagoon system, world famous for its redfish.
Incoming tide is not the only time to fish the flats. As a matter of fact, game fish sense when the tide is about to go out. They’ll hang around in the mouths of tidal rivers, confident that a blue-plate special is coming their way, just as soon as the tide turns! This is when I love fishing the flats, when the reds are everywhere.
North of Tampa Bay can be found the Steinhatchee River. Fly fishing the flats here means taking a shot at cobia, tarpon, Spanish mackeral and scallops. The rocks in this area play host to crabs and shrimp, which in turn attact the redfish.
Any question you may have about fly fishing the flats is sure to be answered in the course of watching this show, or perusing Waszczuk’s magazine called “Fins and Skins.
